In this poem, Owen does not describe the soldiers in a typical, brave way. He shows us the ugly reality of war - that it is mostly a long, pointless exercise in suffering. It is not heroic and exciting.

Which of the following phrases came from this poem, and which are typical 'heroic' ways of thinking about soldiers and war?

Typical soldiers/war

View on war shown in the poem

like hags

bold

lame

blind

valiant

fatigue

limped on

strong

clumsy

fumbling

The narrator of the poem describes seeing another soldier; "As under a green sea". Which literary technique is Wilfred Owen using here?

Owen uses the word "helpless" to describe the situation. Is he just talking about the man who is dying?

Yes - there is a man being gassed in front of him.

No - he also means the whole situation of the war.

ANSWERS

Question 1

Owen uses TWO similes in the first two lines of the poem. Which of these phrases are the similes?

CORRECT ANSWER

like old beggars under sackscoughing like hags

EDDIE SAYS

Similes describe one thing being 'like' or 'as ____ as' another.

ANSWERS

Question 2

Owen says that the soldiers are marching "towards our distant rest". This could have TWO meanings. Choose them from the phrases below.

CORRECT ANSWER

Towards their beds for the nightTowards their deaths

EDDIE SAYS

Owen suggests that the soldiers will either be resting in their beds at the end of their march, or they are marching to their deaths.

ANSWERS

Question 3

Wilfred Owen writes that the men are "Drunk with fatigue". Which feature of language is he using here?

CORRECT ANSWER

metaphor

EDDIE SAYS

It is a metaphor - the men are not literally drunk, but they are so tired they are behaving like they are.

ANSWERS

Question 4

Owen uses the phrase "Disappointed shells". This is personification, the shells cannot be disappointed as they are merely objects. This phrase makes us feel that the war is...

CORRECT ANSWER

pointless and unending

ANSWERS

Question 5

All of a sudden, the poem changes and something happens:

"GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!" Tells us that the soldiers are under attack from chemical weapons and they need to get their masks on quickly.

How does the writer tell us that something in the poem has changed through the punctuation he uses? Write the words that fill in these two gaps in the box below.

He uses ____________ _______.

CORRECT ANSWER

exclamation marks

EDDIE SAYS

The use of exclamation marks changes the tempo of the poem and evokes a sense of panic.

In this poem, Owen does not describe the soldiers in a typical, brave way. He shows us the ugly reality of war - that it is mostly a long, pointless exercise in suffering. It is not heroic and exciting.

Which of the following phrases came from this poem, and which are typical 'heroic' ways of thinking about soldiers and war?

CORRECT ANSWER

Typical soldiers/war

View on war shown in the poem

like hags

bold

lame

blind

valiant

fatigue

limped on

strong

clumsy

fumbling

ANSWERS

Question 9

The narrator of the poem describes seeing another soldier; "As under a green sea". Which literary technique is Wilfred Owen using here?

CORRECT ANSWER

similesimilesa simile

ANSWERS

Question 10

Owen uses the word "helpless" to describe the situation. Is he just talking about the man who is dying?

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